giomania
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TechBill's surveillance build
- Thread starter TechBill
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tangent
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@TechBill did you have a thread on home automation / deaf adaptations beyond this, I'm not finding it:
zwave doorbell
I'm happy to bounce around some ideas, I just think it would be better to keep it in one of your threads. There are a bunch of android apps that flash the camera flash and a company that might be interesting: visualfy.com
Part of the high cost for stuff this stuff is simply the relatively low demand.
RE: color changing lightbulbs, I saw something recently that the color changing bulbs at ikea are compatible with Hue.
Did you ever install some hardwired outdoor motion sensors? Do you have an alarm system?
zwave doorbell
I'm happy to bounce around some ideas, I just think it would be better to keep it in one of your threads. There are a bunch of android apps that flash the camera flash and a company that might be interesting: visualfy.com
Part of the high cost for stuff this stuff is simply the relatively low demand.
RE: color changing lightbulbs, I saw something recently that the color changing bulbs at ikea are compatible with Hue.
Did you ever install some hardwired outdoor motion sensors? Do you have an alarm system?
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Right now, we still have a Deaf doorbell that flashes light but we only have two lights. One in living room and one in our bedroom
So if we are in kicthen or in family room in basement then we miss out unless I have my phone with me
I have a Dahua cam with IVS setup in front door that alert me every time without missing a beat but I need my phone with me all time so I have it with me when I am expecting someone
However recently my wife had to bring home a stray cat which is living outdoor unless it too cold or storm then it can come inside. That cat is triggering the IVS when it get hungry and it annoying when I am at work
Reason for zwave doorbell is because we have 4 CODA who all hearing and we need find a way to have a visual and audio alert doorbell both. Thst why I been searching for the right combo a doorbell that will flash light send audio and send a text to our phone
tangent
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Can you get more specific on the model of the doorbell and how it controls lights?
The RCR-REX motion sensor I mentioned before could be adjusted so it doesn't trigger on a cat by setting the microwave range to be less than the PIR range. Both parts have to trigger.
Do you use Blue Iris or an NVR?
Do you have an alarm system?
Strobe smoke detectors?
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This what we using now it did both door and phone
https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Doo...-2-fkmr1&keywords=deaf+doorbell+phone+flasher
I use Dahua NVR
The cat triggering IVS doesn't bother me as much anymore. I gotten used to it.
Our smoke detector have strobe lights on it and it was provided to us by the local fire station
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tangent
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You're going to have a hard time extending / interfacing with that doorbell/phone flasher. Does that one make a sound too (i'm guessing no)?
If the house has an old hardwired doorbell and chime, there's a product that can detect the button press and give you a digital output you can feed into something else. The ELK-930 includes 2 doorbell detector circuits and one telephone ring detector, but for it's simplicity it's a bit overpriced.
Newer houses typically have smoke detectors that are powered off of 120VAC. If you have this type of interconnected smoke detector, I'd add 1 or 2 hard wired smoke detectors with strobe lights. Interconnected carbon monoxide detectors would also work with these. The strobe may not be enough to wake you from a deep sleep. Regarding the clarity product you linked, from a quick look I think Serene Innovations CentralAlert system is better.
I do like the reliability of hardwired, but there are more products like visual doorbells than there used to be (though most are wireless). Most aren't designed to integrate with other things or the internet, how else are they going to force you to buy a bunch of their sensors, buttons, and displays...
as only china can... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NGS5MF/
https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-RDWL515A2000-Portable-Wireless-Doorbell/dp/B01HNSFTBQ/ look at different styles in drop down
https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-RCWL330A1000-P4-Premium-Portable-Wireless/dp/B001G0MAVA/
more details and models on their website Doorbells | Honeywell
*** Looks like some of Honeywell's products use the European 868MHz band. Models listed on the 'yourhome' site should be US models, but idk if they actually use a different frequency. I'm not sure if you can make different buttons and sensors light up different colors or not. If not they really didn't understand the market for these.
phone flashers are a dime a dozen and can be plugged in anywhere there's a phone jack, you just have to watch the total REN and they generally only alert to phone calls. You can also tie ring detection into some other system. Do you use captel, tty, or a video relay service most often? Is it POTS, VoIP or other?
A smart watch that can vibrate could be a good way to get your attention. I wonder if there are any low frequency subwoofer/bass shaker type products that could make a sound you'd notice/feel without being too loud or obnoxious. I know there are products like bed vibrators/shakers for alarm clocks.
There are a lot of cheap android tablets and prepaid phones. Consider expanding the number of devices that get the alerts. There's a thread on wall mounting a fire tablet. You can make use of things like the device's flash or use a custom home automation display that flashes between color or changes color.
The most versatile setup would be more of a custom automation / alarm system. An ELK alarm system for example could be extremely powerful while being simpler in some ways than other home automation systems. You can hook the output from an alarm or automation system to strobe lights, sirens, and bed shakers pretty easily. Some alarm systems are more flexible in what you can make them do. Interfacing with things that can change color is possible too.
A few interesting products:
Z-Wave Plus RGB Smart Bulb (Works with Alexa & Google Home with Hub) - Monoprice.com
https://www.amazon.com/Fibaro-Micro-Controller-Z-wave-Strips/dp/B00P1N68FW/
https://www.amazon.com/EZMultiPli-Z-Wave-Multi-Sensor-Plug-Temperature/dp/B00Q3OR0CI/
https://www.amazon.com/HomeSeer-HS-WD200-Z-Wave-Scene-Capable-Dimmer/dp/B079F38TPF/
Lighting – Tagged "Special Features_RGB LED Indicators" – HomeSeer Store
TRÅDFRI Dimming kit - IKEA not zwave
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Thank you for the detail information.
My doorbell used to be hard wired in but it was torn or cut off by someone who was trying to flip the house we brought. They brought a wider door with side window from some habitual store for cheap and torn out the framing that had the doorbell button on it to install this door. However I prefer using hardwire and i probably will cut a hole in the sheetrock (it's drywall for most of you folks) to reinstall the doorbell wires again.
I am waiting to install a Doorbell camera so I probably will get that Hikvision since it can be hardwired in and I am sure with onvif that it can be linked to my Dahua NVR. So my choice will be to find a light flasher that can work off the hardwire as well too. While surfing the net, I saw a z-wave device that connects to your existing doorbell chime so I am doing a bit more research on this since i am thinking I could have a regular doorbell chime hook back up for my hearing children and a z wave operated lights for myself and my wife to alert us.
I do have two of those Z wave bulb but it from Aeon and I am glad you show me one that cheaper and that it a z wave plus too. I need to pick out an home automation software to build it all together with. I think I will be trying out the Home Assistance next. I was in their chat room the other day and there was a bunch of helpful folks in there. Hopefully it will actually hard flash light off and on not slowly dim the light on then dim the light off. My goal was to set the light for different color depending on where the alert is coming from like doorbell, phone ringing (we use special video phone for the Deaf and I work for that company for 10 year now as a field technician), garage door opening and also to tell us that garage door is still open every 2 hours etc. and the garbage disposal (yes we do forget about it and left it running sometime) . One thing I like that you added in your post was a wall light switch with all those leds to alert us what is running and we can use it to alert us that door is still open etc. This is cool ...
Those other gimmick like portable led from china, they are just that gimmick and you could barely see the light on it. I know a couple of Deaf people that have tried it and it basically junk. What we have right now is the best thing we can get until we replace it with a zwave bulb. I plan to have a floor lamp and a zwave bulb in it. One for each room but it not use to light the room instead to only alert us by the color the light it flashing depending where the alert is coming from.
I found a blog on the internet where someone took one of the phone flasher and modified it attaching a zwave contact switch to it so I might do this. I always had meddled in in electronics since I was 8 years old starting with radio shack red box kit and I went to college to study in electronic engineering.
As for alarm system, I am still struggling on this one since I don't want my "custom" home automation to be a my home alarm. I am not sure how reliable it would be so I probably prefer to get a DIY alarm system with a built in zwave instead. I have looked but they all seem to only limit to a certain zwave protocal and it may or may not work with "custom" zwave home automation. I would hate to spend a good amount of money on an alarm system only to find out that it won't link in with my zwave or speak to it.
I going to go dig out my raspberry pi and put the home assistance on it tonight and see how it operate the zwave bulb I have now.
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tangent
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Hikvision doorbell does require power and while above average has some significant flaws. Do you really need/want a doorbell camera or do you just see it as way to push alerts to your phone? It's not like you'll be talking to whoever's at the door (which with latency and background noise isn't as useful for hearing persons as they tend to expect). Throw the doorbell detector circuit on an ordinary doorbell, add a basic timer (pulse is too short and to prevent multiple tirggers), and you could connect it to an alarm input on your nvr.
I understand the appeal of the rgb light bulbs, but you may not always notice them and lights could get unplugged or switched off accidentally. I see RGB strip lighting as potentially being pretty useful, there are a lot of places it could be installed where it wouldn't be too noticeable or would serve a secondary purpose (under upper kitchen cabinets, cabinet toe kick in the kitchen or bathroom, behind your tv, on a bookshelf...). There are lots of ways you could use rgb strip lighting.
You might need to supplement with a few actual strobe lights intended for security. A quick flash or two for most alerts and continuous for burglar/fire alarm.
I would definitely increase the number of devices that can display alerts, control home automation, and/or continuously display your camera feeds. There are lots of android devices to be had for <$50. Phone in a picture frame on a bookshelf for example, make the front flash go off when required and change the background color of the screen to indicate what's happening.
Sometimes simple is best... they make momentary single-pole light switches, they're often marketed for garbage disposals. You have to hold them down to keep the disposal running.
Be careful when you say "diy alarm system". That makes me think of products that wouldn't do what you want like s i m p l i s a f e. You can DIY the installation of a professional grade alarm system.
I understand the appeal of the rgb light bulbs, but you may not always notice them and lights could get unplugged or switched off accidentally. I see RGB strip lighting as potentially being pretty useful, there are a lot of places it could be installed where it wouldn't be too noticeable or would serve a secondary purpose (under upper kitchen cabinets, cabinet toe kick in the kitchen or bathroom, behind your tv, on a bookshelf...). There are lots of ways you could use rgb strip lighting.
You might need to supplement with a few actual strobe lights intended for security. A quick flash or two for most alerts and continuous for burglar/fire alarm.
I would definitely increase the number of devices that can display alerts, control home automation, and/or continuously display your camera feeds. There are lots of android devices to be had for <$50. Phone in a picture frame on a bookshelf for example, make the front flash go off when required and change the background color of the screen to indicate what's happening.
Sometimes simple is best... they make momentary single-pole light switches, they're often marketed for garbage disposals. You have to hold them down to keep the disposal running.
there are so many different ways you could interface things or design things. It is possible to interface with many alarms using hard wired devices that provide serial, usb, or ethernet interfaces. A lot of people use alarms systems as a collection of sensors for their home automation system.
Be careful when you say "diy alarm system". That makes me think of products that wouldn't do what you want like s i m p l i s a f e. You can DIY the installation of a professional grade alarm system.
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Good feedback. I never thought about using monetary switch forcing us to hold it to use it but it won't be appealing to my wife
I recently replaced it with in sink air switch where the switch in on the sink now but it air opeested. The power box that air blow into is supposed to be a heavy duty relay
DIY home alarm system I am talking about is buying whole sale alarm like Honeycomb brand etc. Not home made or knock off alarm. System but to install it myself is what meant by DIY
We always used white lightbulb and it was just for use for alert on a small lamp stand on a table or fllor lamp but it was never used for anything else like reading etc. It how we live with all our life.
As for doorbell,. I do have a camera just right above the door but it hard to see the face when they are right at the door and I plan to install it low enough to be able to see the packagr. We get like 2 or 3 package every week due to my job.
Thank again for the excellent feedback. I am rethinking on some of the stuff now.
tangent
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Many disposals are wired to plug into an outlet under the sink, it would be doable to make it turn off automatically if left on for more than a couple minutes. You'd need to use something else to reset it. Try shining a bright flashlight near the top of the air tube to see if it's visible top side. It might be possible to add an indicator light of sorts.
I realize the color changing light bulb could work well so long as it can flash. However there are some locations in the house that aren't as well suited to that and as your kids get older or when a guest comes over there is potential for things to get messed up. The easy fix is to not use switched outlets and to unscrew the switch knob from the lamp.
You might be able to run doorbell wiring without cutting any drywall (except maybe in the garage).
On alarms, there are lots of options. Honeywell, DSC, GE, DMP, ELK, and Leviton (HAI) would all work. Some would probably work better for you than others. Read installation manuals before you buy so you have an understanding of the differences, one thing that does vary is the options available for controlling the outputs of the alarm (siren/strobe at a minimum, people use the for all sorts of things). ELK and Leviton can do some powerful automation that could be useful to you.
Ultimately a big factor in deciding if you want to go with ELK or Leviton would be whether or not you care if you can control any of your home automation system from the alarm keypad.
I realize the color changing light bulb could work well so long as it can flash. However there are some locations in the house that aren't as well suited to that and as your kids get older or when a guest comes over there is potential for things to get messed up. The easy fix is to not use switched outlets and to unscrew the switch knob from the lamp.
You might be able to run doorbell wiring without cutting any drywall (except maybe in the garage).
On alarms, there are lots of options. Honeywell, DSC, GE, DMP, ELK, and Leviton (HAI) would all work. Some would probably work better for you than others. Read installation manuals before you buy so you have an understanding of the differences, one thing that does vary is the options available for controlling the outputs of the alarm (siren/strobe at a minimum, people use the for all sorts of things). ELK and Leviton can do some powerful automation that could be useful to you.
Ultimately a big factor in deciding if you want to go with ELK or Leviton would be whether or not you care if you can control any of your home automation system from the alarm keypad.
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Update ...... (I know it an old thread but when I was going over my old threads and I saw this discussion so I wanted to update what I been doing)
I wounded up getting a EZVIZ camera Dootbell usiog Sage Doorbell Sensor which is paired to Hubatit home automation hub. Most of my rooms ceiling lights in the hosue is connected to a wall zwave switch so I can set up the rule to flash the light once in all rooms when someone presses the doorbell. I am still using the old door bell flasher however I removed the wireless doorbell button and took it apart then solder a zwave relay switch to it so we still can use the phone/door flasher in the room that doesn't have zwave wall switch connected to the ceiling light.
And as for the garage door, I build a DIY automation door where set up a zwave relay switch to operate the door and use zwave tilt sensor to send what state the door is in either opened or closed. Works wonders.